Characterization of Omicron BA.4.6, XBB, and BQ.1.1 subvariants in hamsters

• Published in: Communications Biology Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 331 - 7
• Main Authors: Halfmann, Peter J., Iwatsuki-Horimoto, Kiyoko, Kuroda, Makoto, Hirata, Yuichiro, Yamayoshi, Seiya, Iida, Shun, Uraki, Ryuta, Ito, Mutsumi, Ueki, Hiroshi, Furusawa, Yuri, Sakai-Tagawa, Yuko, Kiso, Maki, Armbrust, Tammy, Spyra, Sam, Maeda, Ken, Wang, Zhongde, Imai, Masaki, Suzuki, Tadaki, Kawaoka, Yoshihiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer Science and Business Media LLC 15.03.2024; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326/421; 631/326/596/4130; ACE2; Amino acids; Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Antigens; Biological Assay; Biology (General); Biomedical and Life Sciences; Clinical isolates; COVID-19; Cricetinae; DNA Replication; Female; Females; Hibernation; Humans; Infections; Inflammation; Life Sciences; Lungs; Male; Mesocricetus; Mutation; Nose; Pandemics; Pathogenicity; Pneumonia; Proteins; QH301-705.5; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Spike protein

During the Omicron wave, previous variants such as BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 were replaced by newer variants with additional mutations in the spike protein. These variants, BA.4.6, BQ.1.1, and XBB, have spread in different countries with different degrees of success. Here, we evaluated the replicative ab...